Men's Sandals Dos & Don'ts

How To Give Your Feet Some Fresh Air Without Embarrassing Yourself

Summer is the official start of barbecues, beaches and breathing time for your feet. However, when it comes to men's shoes, no other type of can present as many potential pitfalls as the sandal: Men's shoes can be too feminine, too chunky, too hippie, or just downright ugly. Sandals walk a fine line when it comes to fashion dos and don’ts. Fortunately, following these rules will have you striding to the shore, or even a summer Friday at the office, in style.

Don’t Take A Hike

When it comes to the worst offenders in the world of men’s sandals, ones designed for serious outdoor activity top the list. This variety looks more like a full-on shoe with oddball cutouts than a sleek summer sandal. No one would doubt its comfort or utility with a lug sole and all those synthetic water-absorbent materials. After all, something so hideous must have been created to serve a purpose. However, function should never completely trump style. If you’re going to take a hike, do it with a pair of real boots, not a stout sandal.

Don’t Go Granola

Birkenstocks and Tevas are better suited for a sit-in than a night out. You probably owned at least one pair of these granola-crunching shoes at summer camp and wore them with a not-so-subtly witty frat boy style T-shirt, cargo shorts and a hemp necklace. It’s time to grow up. A real man’s sandal should channel casual sophistication, not a bonfire. The ironic thing about these men's sandals is that they are supposed to somehow be practical. The relatively hefty price tag and inability to withstand moisture say otherwise. One stroll on the lakeshore with these, and you’ll be waiting days for them to dry out. In the meantime, you’re left smelling like a dirty locker room.

Don’t Cover UpIt’s difficult to say how exactly the sock and sandal combination came into existence. By contrast, it’s astoundingly easy to spot the offenders every summer. Just go to your local amusement park, museum or outlet shopping center — basically any place where there are tourists en masse. You’ll be bound to find argyle sock-covered feet strangled in a sandal gasping for air. Some even wear it unabashedly as though an open-toed shoe were designed to be corrupted in the most heinous of ways.

Don’t buy in bulkSome people might be surprised to find out that Dr. Martens still exist. The iconic, chunky black shoe/boot with yellow stitching certainly had its moment with mall-rat teens in the '90s. What isn’t surprising is that if Dr. Martens were to make a men's sandal, it would be equally cumbersome. Summer fashion is supposed to be light and carefree, but wearing a shoe that looks like a block of wood on your foot doesn’t exactly radiate airiness. Thick foam and rubber-sole sandals with equally bulky uppers are just as offensive as the hiking type without any of the functionality.

Don’t slide around

Unless you’re a sideline soccer player, leave the athletic slip-ons at home. It may be easy and comfortable to slip your foot into a lightweight foam and rubber sandal, but it’s not a statement you ever want to make outside of your home or maybe the showers at the gym. This is one sandal that, despite sturdiness, has a limited ability to survive outside of its normal habitat. No matter how your wear the slide, it will always make you look like you just came from soccer practice. Even a benched Beckham wouldn’t be able to pull this one off.

Now that you know the men's sandals don'ts, it's time to check out the dos...